is a graphic design studio in London and Odenwald/Frankfurt. We, Frank Philippin and Billy Kiosoglou, established the studio in 1999 after graduating with an MA in Graphic Design from the Royal College of Art and run it to this day. We cover all areas of Graphic Design, including publishing, visual identities, logos, poster design and websites. Over the years, we’ve worked with many clients including Anish Kapoor (UK), Aram Store (UK), Bolles+Wilson Architects (D), British Council (UK), DAAD (UK/D), Disney (UK/US), Fraunhofer-Institut (D), Frieze (UK/D), Goethe-Institut (UK/D), ICA (UK), Italian Cultural Institute (UK), Laurence King Publishing (UK), Martin-Gropius-Bau (D), RIBA (UK), Skira Editore (IT), Steidl Publishing (D), Second Hand Records Stuttgart (D), Walther Koenig Publishing (D) and the Vitra Design Museum (D). And we’ve won quite a few awards as well. The most prestigious being the Grand Prix at the TDC Tokyo Type Directors Club, the Design Museum London Designs of the Year Award, a Yellow Pencil at the D&AD Awards, a Gold Cube at the ADC Art Directors Club New York, a Gold Nail at the ADC Art Directors Club Germany and Certificates of Typographic Excellence at the TDC New York Type Directors Club. We’ve also been teaching Graphic Design since 1998. Frank has been a professor of Communication Design at the Faculty of Design, Darmstadt University (D) since 2007, and Billy is an associate lecturer at UAL Camberwell College of Arts (UK).

On good design: Having studied in an environment that valued originality and lateral thinking over style has informed our practise to this day and has greatly influenced the way we approach each design project. We still believe that concept-driven design leads to new ways of seeing and new ways of doing things. And therefore better design. On our approach: When we start work on a project, we try to get right to the heart of it and enjoy editing out all the unnecessary bits. Then we try to make work that is original, memorable, and direct. On beauty: It inevitably comes into what we do, but it’s not an objective in itself. We prefer to focus on the formation of a strong idea and how it translates into appropriate design (that’s the beautiful bit). Because looking for beauty doesn’t necessarily lead to beauty. Most of the times it leads to a momentarily stylish result that will age fast and ungracefully. Style is, by its nature, ephemeral. If, on the contrary, you put your faith in the idea and trust the design process, the outcome will have integrity, originality and longevity. We’re happy to look back at our portfolio from the past 18 years and see that most works stand the test of time. On doing it right: The deeper we’re involved in a project, the more you get out of us. We depend on respectful collaboration, not least because it will lead to work that surpasses expectations. On growing: We’ve kept our studio small, as we enjoy working on all stages of the process (including initial meetings, design presentations, design/layout, final artwork, and handling production). This means we personally handle a project from concept through to production, ensuring things don’t get lost in translation. When projects require more, we also have a reliable pool of writers, editors, architects, programmers, and artworkers, with whom we work to get the job done. With our experience and skills, you’ll get more than you pay for. On fees and free pitches: We’re not the cheapest designers - a bespoke approach and attention to detail never is - but you’re not paying for overheads. We don’t do free pitches. A commission is based on trust, a free pitch on lack of trust. Plus, they don’t work for anyone. When designers focus on securing a job, they aren’t exploring the countless possibilities of what that job could be. On specialising: We have always resisted it! We’re happy working with artists and corporates alike, with start-ups, organisations, architects and institutes. We also publish our own projects and teach Graphic Design.

Before there was Brighten the Corners studio for design, there was Brighten the Corners, the album by Pavement. Although tracing the connection may seem difficult, the more persistent listener will find that repeated sessions of Type Slowly, Date w/ IKEA or Old to Begin will offer invaluable insights.